We have experienced irregular income because my husband has been self-employed for a number of years and there have been times when his work has slowed down.
I found that if I list what has to be paid, i.e. food, medicine, utility bills, insurance, gasoline for the car and the essentials, it is easier to know what to pay first. By the same token, I list essentials for my emergency fund savings. I reason that if I had an emergency I probably wouldn't be buying nonessential clothes or buying gifts, or anything outside of what's actually needed to be paid.
I sometimes read that advisors say 6 months of expenses and they don't specify what expenses they are talking about. This subject bears explaining to most readers who are confused about what 6 months of expenses would look like.
I agree with Jeffrey that saying the word budget conjures up an idea of a diet. It probably is better to say SPENDING PLAN.
Last edited by Aleta : 09-17-2007 at 09:58 AM.
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